If I Drop a Class, Will I Still Get My Housing Allowance?
Q: I just started school this semester and I found out I’m taking a class that I don’t need. If I drop the class, it will put me at 9 credits for the semester. Would I still be covered? Are there any penalties for dropping a class?
A: If you drop a class within your school’s drop period, then there isn’t any penalties, however, if you wait and drop it after the official drop period, you may have to pay back the VA for the cost of the class. If this is the first time you will be dropping a class and you are past the drop period, you can use the VA’s one-time/first-time drop where you could drop up to 6-credits with no questions asked.
However, if you have to drop a class again outside of the drop period, then the VA might have you pay for the course depending on the reason for the drop. It sounds like you are most likely still within the drop period, so you should still be O.K.
As far as your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance, if you drop to 9-credits you should still be considered a greater-than-half-time student, so you would still get the full housing allowance.
Just so you know, starting in August your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance will be prorated according to how many credits you take. If your school considers 12 credits to be full time and you are taking 9, you would get 9/12ths of the full housing allowance.